Cleaning Utensil

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a cleaning utensil for cleaning floors and other surfaces, comprising cleaning rollers actuated by a gear mechanism with rotation conversion, said mechanism being actuated by a single drive wheel.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present application for a patent of invention is the registration of a cleaning utensil incorporating considerable innovations and advantages in its particular realizations with regard to the cleaning mops and brooms, the aspiration mouths and crumb collectors.

Concretely the invention proposes the development of a cleaning utensil, particularly apt for cleaning floors and other surfaces, comprising cleaning rollers actuated by a gear mechanism with rotation conversion, said mechanism being actuated by a single drive wheel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Currently, in the market for household goods, there exist different utensils for cleaning floors and other surfaces, such as brooms, vacuum cleaners and others. The brooms have the inconvenience that they require the action of sweeping, the dirt is dragged up to a determined point and finally they require an additional collector to pick up the dirt. The mops do not require the action of sweeping and in principle they do not require an additional collector either since the dirt is adhering to the very mop, but the use of this device is limited to inner surfaces (tiles, parquets etc.) and to a very specific kind of dirt (basically dust and hairs).

A vacuum cleaner for household use is characterized by having at least a mouth that is in contact with the surface to be cleaned, while there exist basically two types of mouths, the mouth with retractile filaments for its use with tiles, carpets and any surface in general, and the mouth with firm filaments for its use with delicate surfaces such as parquets and determined kinds of tiles.

In both mouths, the manufacturers have to provide small openings in the filament walls to allow the dirt to enter. This design reduces the efficiency of the cleaner since it shows the following inconvenients:

the suction of the cleaner is limited by the very wall of filaments that only allow the air current to circulate through the small openings the filaments themselves expel the particles outside when moving over the surface to be cleaned

On the other hand, the crumb collectors that have rollers are basing their functioning on the fact that they are picking up crumbs with lower part of the device, and their main inconvenience is that very easily the collected particles may fall out again since there is no anti-tilting system implemented to isolate the dirt of the roller.

In the state of the art there exist various utensils based on rollers or brushes with tooths that are to pick up the dirt from the floor or a surface.

Examples of this kind of utensils are described in the patents U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,508, US2004034952 and ES0286283. Notwithstanding the device represented in the patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,508 shows a certain complexity since it requires four carrying (driving) wheels in order to force the sense of rotation of the rollers (instead of only one). At the same time, the existence of these four driving wheels is limiting the freedom of movements on the surface to be cleaned to exclusively straight directions, impeding to realize curves and therefore to move the device easily in any desired direction. This finally is compelling to lift the device from the floor and to reorientate it in order to use it in a new direction.

Also is known the patent US2004034952 in which is described a cleaning utensil provided with a gearing mechanism (very similar to the one of patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,508 but simplified) that acts in a manner that when the utensil is moved ahead, the associated roller rotates, picking up the dirt. If the user, however, moves the utensil in the contrary direction (backwards) the gearing mechanism will not work and so the roller does not pick up the dirt and only allows working in one direction (forward). Finally the patent ES0286283 also presents the inconvenience that it only works in a single direction and therefore only functions when the device is moved forward.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention consists in a cleaning utensil that disposes of two main rotating rollers that are parallel to each other and rotate in opposite directions towards the interior of the utensil. This allows the dirt to be caught between both rollers and to be separated in the upper part of the rollers through the uncoupling of the filaments of both rollers, the centrifugal force of the rollers and the combing of the filaments inside the utensil.

Additionally, this utensil disposes of a rotation converting mechanism that is activated through a single driving wheel in contact with the surface to be cleaned and allows the rollers to always rotate in the same direction of rotation, independently from the sense of rotation of the driving wheel. Finally the device is constituted of a second wheel or shifting wheel, in contact with the surface and independent from the driving wheel, enabling the device to orientate itself in any direction without having to lift it off the floor. With this wheel arrangement the utensil is able to move on the surface in any direction, enabling both main rollers to always rotate in the same direction of rotation, independently from the direction the utensil is used in the chosen direction, be it forward or backward.

The present invention has been developed in order to provide a cleaning utensil that resolves the inconveniences existing in the state of the art, providing also other additional advantages, depending on the concrete realization, that will become obvious by the description that will follow hereafter.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning utensil, particularly apt for cleaning floors and other surfaces, that has cleaning means triggered by a gearing mechanism with conversion of rotation.

Particularly, the invention refers to cleaning means that are constituted by two main rollers with filaments or similar that are able to be rotating parallel to each other and are situated inside a hollow space of a housing that is hollow inside, the two of which rotate in directions opposed to each other. Moreover, the gearing mechanism with conversion of rotation is activated by a single driving wheel that is apt to be in contact with the surface to be cleaned and which is associated to the main axis that transmits the rotating movement to the two main rollers through secondary axes that are associated to each of the main rollers, thanks to the gearing mechanism with conversion of rotation, allowing the main rollers to always rotate in the same sense of rotation, independently from the direction of rotation of the driving wheel, sweeping the dirt particles to the inside of the device.

On both main rollers, in the inside of the device a combing is realized with the purpose of helping to extract the dirt particles from the filaments of the rollers, and thus to improve the cleaning efficiency of the device.

The device disposes of a second wheel, or shifting wheel that is in contact with the surface and independent from the driving wheel that enables the device to orientate itself in any direction of use, in a much more efficient and simple way, without having to lift it off the floor or the surface in order to reorientate it.

With regard to the gearing mechanism with conversion of rotation, the main axis of said mechanism presents an oblong body of a noticeably circular cross-section, except for a part of segment that is not circular and to which is coupled a central wheel that can be moved on this non circular segment and rotates jointly with the main axis, in which the central wheel is delimited by a first and a second delimiting wheel which, for their part, are assembled on the main axis by the segment of circular section, rotating freely on said main axis, whereas the central wheel is coupled alternatively with the delimiting wheels, so that the delimiting wheels and the main axis are able to rotate in the same rotation direction or in opposed directions.

Moreover, preferably the central wheel consists in a wheel with a non cylindrical axis with a cross-section that is identical with the section of the non circular segment of the main axis, wherein on both surfaces of their sides is comprised at least one crown gear that is concentrical with regard to the non cylindrical axis of the wheel, and wherein each crown is formed by a plurality of teeth.

It has to be mentioned that this cleaning utensil does not require any electric device in order to function, and that is thus completely mechanical, so that the use of batteries or current supply means are not required, nor is required maintenance.

As has been commented, the driving wheel and the shifting wheel are independent from each other, and allow the orientation of the device towards any direction of use, which, in a preferred realization where the maximum efficiency for the device to function is obtained, correspond to the direction that is perpendicular to the axes of the main rollers.

In order to obtain, additionally, that the device may be able to be moved, not only orientated, in any direction, it is possible to realize a wheel variant, such as is described hereafter.

The utensil may comprise a driving wheel that is able to rotate with regard to the main axis, which includes a plurality of second wheels that are situated radially and protrude from the ridge of the body of the driving wheel, wherein the second wheels rotate freely with regard to respective secondary rotation axes that are perpendicular to the main axis of the driving wheel.

This way the driving wheel is able to move in any direction since it will rotate in a concrete sense, but at the same time it will be enabled to move on the surface, thanks to the radial wheels.

The shifting wheel has also be to multidirectional in order to achieve that the whole utensil be multidirectional but in this case, since this wheel is not the driving wheel, it can have the same disposition as mentioned before, or it can have any other multidirectional wheel disposition.

This is how it can be obtained to dispose of a multidirectional utensil, allowing to keep being efficient in a wide range of directions (and in both senses of the direction) that are different from the perpendicular sense of the axes of the main rollers (ideal direction of use), reaching the extreme case that if the device moves in a parallel direction to the axes of the main rollers, the utensil would be able to move without a problem, the main rollers would not rotate and the utensil would act as a broom.

According to another aspect of the invention, the housing is defined by side walls and an upper base; the inside of the housing being able to include an inner separation wall and a lower base that would conform a storage zone or particle container. This particle container would not be necessary for the concrete realization of aspiration mouths since in this case the dirt would be aspired by the upper part of the device.

In an advantageous manner, the storage zone includes holding means in a zone near to the entry of the storing zone that reduces the passage section. This way it is avoided that, in case of rotating or tilting the utensil, the particles and the dirt in general that are accumulated in the storing zone, fall out of the same.

Preferably, the holding means consist in a wall segment that may present an inclination with regard to the horizontal plane in a descending sense, when the utensil is in a condition of use, such that it is difficult for the dirt to get out, and at the same time it is facilitated that the dirt falls into the storage zone. In a preferred realization of the invention, this wall section is the one that additionally realizes the combing of the roller in order to help extracting the dirt so that it moves by the tilted wall up to the storage zone, constituting the combing means.

In an alternative realization, the holding means dispose of a second wall that is tilted in a descending sense and situated in an opposed side wall and at a different height so that they define a zigzag line up to the storage zone, aggravating considerably the outlet of the dirt, in case the utensil is tilted.

Another one of the inconveniences to be overcome in this kind of devices is to allow the collection of dirt situated on any point of the surface of the utensil, out of reach of the main rollers (for example under the mechanism or the wheels) and to allow the collection of dirt situated between the limits of the utensil and the rollers, such as for example to collect dirt situated near a base that is not reached by the main rollers and where the device cannot move to, since it is limited by the very base.

In a preferred realization and in order to solve the before mentioned problem, the axes of the main rollers or secondary axes could include crown gears that engage with crown gears coupled to filament rollers or similar, secondary, that rotate in a direction opposed to the associated main roller, so that the end of each rotating main roller is connected to a secondary filament roller or similar, whereupon said filament rollers adopt a configuration that clearly shows an “X” form in a horizontal plane, as they are disposed on the outer part of the hollow space of the housing.

The presence of the secondary rollers favours the dirt particles etc. to be moved to the central part of the utensil when the utensil is moved in one direction, which central part corresponds to the zone where the rotating main rollers, in charge of collecting the particles, are situated.

Thanks to all before mentioned technical characteristics, a cleaning utensil is obtained that is provided with a rotation converting gearing mechanism in which only is used a single driving wheel for activating said gearing mechanism and with the same the multiple cleaning elements, and therefore it turns out to be much more simple in its construction, more efficient in cleaning and much more manageable than the utensils known in the prior art.

In the course of the description and the claims, the word “comprises” and its variants do not mean to exclude other technical characteristics or components. For the experts in the matter, other objects, advantages and characteristics of the invention will be derived partly from the description and partly from the practice of the invention. The following examples and drawings are provided as illustration, and are not meant to be limitative for the present invention. Moreover, the present invention covers all the possible combinations of the particular and preferred realizations indicated here.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1.—Shows a schematic plan view of a cleaning utensil of a broom type, with amplified detail of the gearing mechanism, according to the present invention.

FIG. 2.—Shows a schematic plan view of a cleaning utensil of the crumb collecting type.

FIG. 3.—Shows a schematic elevational side view of a segment of a cleaning utensil of an aspiring mouth type, according to a realization of the invention.

FIG. 4.—Shows a detailed elevational front and side view of the multidirectional driving wheel.

FIG. 5.—Shows a schematic elevational side view of a segment of the inner housing of the cleaning utensil according to the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED REALIZATION

As shown in FIG. 1, a cleaning utensil, indicated in a general form with reference (1) can be observed, that has shown to be adequate for cleaning floors and other surfaces and comprises mainly cleaning means that are provided with a rotation converting gearing mechanism that will be described in more details further below.

Particularly, the cleaning means comprise two main rollers of filaments or similar that are rotative (2) parallel to each other and situated, in a horizontal plane, inside a hollow space of an innerly hollow housing (3) in which these rotative rollers (2) rotate in directions opposed to each other. The two main rotative rollers (2) are identical.

As it can be seen in FIG. 1, the gearing mechanism presents one single driving wheel (4) apt to enter into contact with the surface to be cleaned, that is associated to a main axis (5) that transmits the rotative movement to the two main rotative rollers (2) through a pair of secondary axes (6). Each one of the secondary axes (6) includes crown gears (7) that engage with crown gears (9) coupled to secondary filament rollers or similar (11) that rotate in a direction opposed to the associated main rotative roller (2), so that the end of each main rotative roller (2) is connected to a secondary filament roller (11) or similar, whereupon said secondary filament rollers or similar (11) adopt a configuration that clearly shows an “X” form in a horizontal plane, such as they are disposed on the outer part of the hollow space of the housing (3).

In the present realization, the secondary filament rollers (11) or similar are of lesser dimensions than the main rotative rollers (2).

The driving wheel (4) is protected by side walls and is forming an individual space in the housing (3) so that said driving wheel (4) is protected from possible blows.

As a preferred realization, the driving wheel (4) can include a plurality of second wheels (14) as is shown in FIG. 4, that are made of rubber material or similar. Said secondary wheels (12) are disposed radially and on the rim of the body of the driving wheel (4), rotating freely with regard to their rotation axes (19) which are perpendicular with regard to the main axis (5). These second wheels (14) are disposed in independent lodgings (18), radially distributed around the driving wheel (4).

Additionally, on the side opposite to the driving wheel (4) is provided a shifting wheel (13) that rotates with respect to the axis in an independent and multidirectional form.

Referring once again to the main axis (5) of the gearing mechanism, as it is shown in the scaled up detail of FIG. 1, said main axis (5) has an oblong body of circular cross-section except for a part of segment that is not circular (like, for example, in the form of an oval) and to which is coupled a central wheel (15) that can be moved on this non circular segment and rotates jointly with the main axis (5), in which the central wheel (15) is delimited by a first and a second delimiting wheel (16, 17) which, for their part, are assembled on the main axis (5) by the segment of circular section, rotating freely on said main axis, wherein the central wheel and the delimiting wheels are coupled alternatively with each other, so that the delimiting wheels (16, 17) and the main axis (5) are able to rotate in the same rotation direction or in opposed directions.

The central wheel (15) consists of a wheel with a non cylindrical axis with a cross-section that is identical with the cross-section of the non circular segment of the main axis (5). Additionally, the central wheel (15) comprises on both surfaces of its sides at least one concentrical crown gear (151, 152), with regard to the non cylindrical axis of the wheel, and wherein each crown is formed by a plurality of teeth that allow the coupling/uncoupling of the central wheel with regard to the delimiting wheels (16, 17).

For such purpose, each of the delimiting wheels (16, 17) comprises at the same time an additional crown gear (161, 171) that is concentrical with regard to its axes, and situated on the surface of the side opposite to the central wheel (15), so that the crowns (151, 152) of the central wheel (15) engage, respectively, with the crowns (161, 171) of both delimiting wheels.

Also, the teeth that compose the crown gears (151, 152) and (161, 171) may have multiple forms, and said form is affecting the facileness with which the crowns (151, 152) of the central wheel (15) engage, respectively, with the crowns (161, 171) of both delimiting wheels.

Each time that the main axis (5) changes its rotation direction, this causes the central wheel (15) and the delimiting wheel with which it is coupled, to rotate in opposite directions, forcing the central wheel (15) to uncouple itself from the delimiting wheel to which it is coupled, and to couple itself to the other delimiting wheel.

As is shown in FIG. 5, in a preferred realization of the invention, the housing (3) in which are accommodated the main rotative rollers (2) is defined by side walls and a higher base, wherein the inside of the housing (3) includes an inner separating wall (33) and a lower base (34) that form a storage zone (30). In this case, there are two storage zones (30), one on each side of the rotative rollers (2).

In the higher part of the housing (3) can be coupled a handle or another holding piece that can be fixed in any of the known forms, for example with a thread or clipping element.

In a preferred realization of the invention, in order to avoid the outlet of the dirt particles collected by the rotative rollers (2), the storage zone (30) may include holding means. These holding means consist in two wall segments (31, 32) inclined in opposed angles, at different heights and in a descending direction, so when the utensil is in a condition of use, these holding means define a zigzag line that intends to avoid the easy outlet of the dirt particles when the cleaning utensil (1) is tilted. In a preferred realization of the invention, this wall segment (32) is the one that additionally realizes the combing of the roller in order to help extracting the dirt and which moves by the tilted wall up to the storage zone, constituting the combing means (32 a).

In another preferred realization the combing means (32 a) protrude from the housing into the inside, towards the main rotative rollers (2) so that the filaments of the same enter into contact with the combing means (32 a) each time they pass the zone where these combing means (32 a) are situated, extracting the dirt collected by the filaments of the main rotative rollers (2) as is shown in FIG. 2.

The before mentioned means (30, 31, 32 and 32 a) can be found in a preferred realization of the invention such as a broom and a crumb collector, as is shown in the FIGS. 2 and 5. In the case of an aspiration mouth, according to FIG. 3, it would lack the said means (30, 31 and 32) and instead it would have the aspiration means that are known in the art.

The details, the forms, the dimensions and other accessory elements, as well as the materials used in manufacturing the cleaning utensil of the invention can be conveniently substituted by others that may be technically equivalent and do not veer away from the essence of the invention nor the scope defined by the claims that are included hereafter. 

1. Cleaning utensil for cleaning floors and similar surfaces comprising: two main rotating rollers with filaments parallel to each other with secondary axes situated in the interior of a hollow space of a housing, these main rollers rotating in opposite directions to each other; a single driving wheel that is in contact with the floor or the surface to be cleaned and that is associated to a main axis, said main axis being linked to the two main rotating rollers through the secondary axis and a rotation converting gear mechanism where said main rotating rollers always rotate in the same direction, independently from the rotation direction of the driving wheel; the rotation conversion mechanism is formed by a main axis rotating in both rotation directions and presenting an oblong body of circular cross-section except for a part of segment that is not circular and to which is coupled a central wheel that can be moved on this non circular segment and rotates jointly with the main axis, in which the central wheel is delimited by a first and a second delimiting wheel which, for their part, are assembled on the main axis by the segment of circular section, whereas each of the delimiting wheels is rotating freely on said main axis in the same rotation direction or in opposed directions, and whereas the central wheel is coupled alternatively with the delimiting wheels each time the rotation direction of the main axis is changed through crown gears situated on both sides of the central wheel with the crown gears of the delimiting wheels; and a shifting wheel, free and independent from the driving wheel, situated in the housing on the side opposite to the driving wheel, wherein the driving wheel turns jointly with the main axis, whereas the driving wheel includes a plurality of second wheels disposed in independent lodgings, radially distributed around the driving wheel and that protrude from the ridge of the body of said driving wheel, in which the second wheels rotate freely with regard to the rotation axes that are perpendicular to the main axis.
 2. Cleaning utensil according to claim 1, wherein each of the secondary axes comprises crown gears that engage with crown gears coupled to secondary filament rollers or similar that rotate in a direction opposed to the associated main rotating rollers, so that the end of each main rotating roller is connected to a secondary filament roller whereas said secondary filament rollers adopt a configuration that perceptibly shows an “X” form in a horizontal plane, as they are disposed on the outside of the hollow space of the housing.
 3. Cleaning utensil according to claim 1, wherein the housing is defined by side walls and an upper base, whereas the interior of the housing includes an inner separating wall and a lower base that form a storing zone.
 4. Cleaning utensil according to claim 5, wherein the storing zone includes holding structures situated in a zone near to the entry flap of the storing zone that reduce the cross-section of passage.
 5. Cleaning utensil according to claim 4, wherein the holding structures comprise a wall section with an inclination with regard to the horizontal plane in a descending sense when the utensil is in a condition of use.
 6. Cleaning utensil according to claim 4, wherein the holding structures are situated at a different height one from another, so they form a zigzag route previous to the storing zone.
 7. Cleaning utensil according to claim 1, wherein from the housing protrudes into the inside a wall section that enters into contact with the filaments of the main rotating rollers.
 8. Cleaning utensil according to claim 1, wherein the central wheel comprises a non cylindrical axis with a cross-section that is identical to the one of the non-circular section of the main axis. 